The Business of Art

In its current avatar,Amir doesn’t really resemble a magazine. What it does look like is a trade document and a bit of a mouthpiece for the art Moghul whose empire has been under attack recently. Tuli is candid when he says this is his attempt at “revealing facts and figures that will shake the art market.” But there are no insights in to the elusive figures on his art fund. Instead he delves into auction sales figures where he openly charters his journey in the market. There are two pie-charts that illustrates Osian’s fall in the market share last year. The share goes from 32 percent in 2009 to 18 in 2010.

While one is struck by the honesty of this act,one wonders why only four auction houses have been represented in the pie chart when the market is larger and has more players than Christie’s Sotheby’s,Saffron Art and Osian’s. Tuli says,“We have taken into account only established auction houses that have had at least ten years in the business. At the time we recorded sales,Bonham’s had not held any auction,” he explains,adding,“We are targeting the art fraternity and all the institutions interested in art as asset and collectable along with the intelligentsia and the media.”

Tuli plans to crystallize the format of the magazine by the third issue,when the publication will be put on stands and distributed across the country. “It will be relatively cheap so that students can have access to it,” adds Tuli.

Since this will be the first trade magazine of sorts coming up in India,the expectations are quite high. So far,there have been magazines like Bhavana Kakar’s recently launched Take,on Art that falls in the niche category of those like Art and Deal,Art India and the more recent Bombay Art Society Journal. All of these give an insight in to the world of art.

Ajay Seth of Copal Art Fund is a peer in the art fund business and he has eagerly read through the report published in the first trial issue of Amir: “At least some of the data is being analysed and put out there for people to see. Besides,it also has interviews with high profile bankers like Romesh Sobti of IndusInd Bank and respected collectors like Kekoo Gandhi,” he says,adding,“I feel this document will help create confidence among new collectors,” says Seth.

However he is also wary of a flip-side to the publication. “Currently the information is targeted with a specific aim; the visual representation appears to be heavily tilted towards Osian’s and if Tuli is being bullish about certain artists or galleries then there needs to be more representation to provide more objectivity,” he points out.